SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea is angrily reacting to a landmark U.N. resolution on its widely condemned human rights record with a threat to bolster its 1.2 million-member military and conduct a fourth nuclear test.
This is not the first U.N. resolution to castigate North Korea over human rights, but it is the first to urge the Security Council to refer the issue to the International Criminal Court, and it includes the idea that its autocratic leader, Kim Jong Un, could be targeted by prosecutors. The non-binding resolution will come before the U.N. General Assembly in the coming weeks after its human rights committee approved it Tuesday.
The suggestion that Kim could face prosecution has drawn a furious response from North Korea, which has long insisted it must develop long-range nuclear weapons to deter U.S. aggression.
It’s not still known if North Korea would carry out its threat to conduct an atomic test, but the dispute is expected to serve as another source of tension between it and Washington.
Here are looks at how countries view the U.N. resolution:
